The holiday season has arrived, and Christmas ads are once again taking over our screens. Every year, brands compete fiercely for viewers’ attention, each aiming to create the festive moment that captures hearts and steals the spotlight. Warm stories, humour, and a spark of Christmas magic all play a part as companies try to deliver the ad everyone will remember.
So get cosy, grab your favourite winter treat, and dive into the standout Christmas adverts of 2025 that are guaranteed to lift your spirits.
Where Love Lives | John Lewis & Partners
John Lewis’s Christmas advert “Where Love Lives” tells a warm, emotionally charged story built around the quiet distance that can grow between a parent and a teenager, and the small, thoughtful moments that can close that gap again.
The film begins on Christmas morning in a familiar domestic scene: the father is clearing away discarded wrapping paper beneath the tree, while his teenage son sits slightly apart with headphones on. He looks calm on the outside, but he’s been worrying for days about the gift he bought for his dad, unsure whether it will mean what he hopes it will.
Among the wrapping paper, the father discovers one last unopened gift labelled “Dad 🙂”. Inside is a vinyl record of the 1990s club-anthem Where Love Lives by Alison Limerick. He places it on his turntable. As the needle drops, the familiar beat takes him elsewhere, back to a pulsating 1990s club scene, full of lights and motion, where memories of youth merge with the present.
In the dance-floor sequence, the father spots his son first as a teenager amidst the crowd, then as a toddler taking first steps, then as a newborn in his arms. The music becomes a bridge between past and present, father and son, emotion and expression.
When the vision fades and he opens his eyes, he is back in the living room, the record still spinning. His son stands nearby, anxious and unsure of what his father has felt. The father doesn’t say a word. He stands, crosses the room, and pulls his son into a hug. The boy exhales in relief, understanding instantly that the gift reached him.
The advert closes with the message: “If you can’t find the words, find the gift.”
The campaign was created by the agency Saatchi & Saatchi on behalf of John Lewis & Partners, and the idea rests on the insight that when words fail, a thoughtful gift can express what you feel.
The limited-edition vinyl record is being sold exclusively via Rough Trade at John Lewis stores and via the John Lewis app, with all profits going to the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures programme.
John Lewis has been added to our article highlighting companies that use personal names as brand names. This naming approach carries powerful advantages: it builds trust, creates a sense of personal connection, and gives the brand a distinct personality and authenticity. The company also owns its Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain, JohnLewis.com, ensuring simple, direct online access for customers, an important foundation for the modern retail experience.
Wallace & Gromit x Barbour
Barbour has teamed up with Aardman once again for a fun and festive Christmas advert featuring the beloved Wallace & Gromit.
The advert opens inside the familiar home of Wallace & Gromit, where charm and gentle chaos reign in equal measure. Gromit is quietly wrapping a gift by the Christmas tree, while Wallace bursts in wearing a Barbour beanie and unveils his latest invention: the “Gift-o-matic”. This robot, clad in Barbour’s exclusive festive Winterberry tartan, promises to make gift-giving effortless; it can gift, wrap, unwrap and even pull a cracker.
What follows is a playful sequence of mishaps: Gromit is blown straight into the garden by an overpowered cracker function, and Wallace ends up in nothing but his underwear when the “unwrap” setting gets a bit too literal.
Barbour’s Group Deputy Managing Director, Paul Wilkinson, shared:
We are excited to be continuing our partnership with Aardman for another year; a brand, like Barbour, that is renowned for its heritage, nostalgia, craftsmanship and meticulous detail. This year’s film bring a light-hearted charm to Barbour’s Original and Authentic Tartans including the Classic Tartan Scarf and the exclusive, reimagined Winterberry Tartan wrapping Wallace’s ingenious Gift-o-matic. Whilst rooted in our British heritage, the story’s themes of generosity and togetherness resonate far beyond the UK, reflecting the universal spirit of the season.
Paul Wilkinson, Barbour’s Group Deputy Managing Director
Barbour included its Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain name, Barbour.com, at the end of the ad, ensuring viewers can find the official site instantly.
The Perfect Gift | Waitrose
In this year’s campaign, the supermarket Waitrose has created a festive film that doubles as a mini romantic-comedy. Titled “The Perfect Gift”, the advert stars Keira Knightley (playing a version of herself) and Joe Wilkinson as Phil, a somewhat ordinary man who ends up falling for her during a meet-cute at the Waitrose cheese counter, where they bond over a block of Sussex Charmer mature cheddar.
From there the story unfolds like a comforting holiday movie: Phil and Keira share mulled wine, bake together, make crafts, take snowy walks and build an affectionate bond. At one point, when Phil sees what appears to be a gift already given to Keira by someone else, he falters—but then he regains confidence and conveys his feelings through a special gesture: cooking her grandmother’s turkey-pie recipe, complete with pastry letters spelling “I love you”. Waitrose use this moment to highlight their own festive food range, reinforcing their message that “food is the love language.”
Created by Wonderhood Studios and directed by Molly Manners, the campaign takes a bold step for a supermarket brand: a four-minute film rather than a standard 30- or 60-second spot. Wonderhood’s founder and CCO, Aidan McClure shared:
We wanted a really hardworking retail campaign. Marketing it like a movie allows us to enter those more traditional spaces that retailers operate in. Everything’s well-branded and driving audiences to watch this film, but in a way that’s really selling Waitrose. We want audiences to be entertained and to talk about our advertising.
Aidan McClure, Wonderhood’s founder and CCO
Waitrose operates under the EBM domain name, Waitrose.com. This ensures the brand is readily accessible, simplifying the customer’s journey from seeing an ad to visiting their website, enhancing the overall effectiveness of their advertising efforts.
A Disney Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever
A Disney Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever is a charming new animated film from the Walt Disney Company, directed by Taika Waititi and featuring the voice of John Goodman. The story begins with a young girl writing her Christmas wish list, doodling a playful character in the corner without thinking much of it. Santa, mistaking the doodle for a real request, decides to bring it to life. On Christmas morning, the girl wakes to find her sketch standing under the tree as a real, unexpected new friend. The one problem? She forgot to draw a mouth.
Because of this missing detail, her new friend can’t speak. At first he seems excited just to be alive, but as they spend time together, he grows quiet and visibly sad, unable to share his thoughts or join in their laughter. Realising her mistake and seeing how much it hurts him, the girl sets out to fix it. With creativity, she finds a way to give him the voice he never had.
The short captures the wonder of childhood, mixing humour, warmth and a gentle reminder that even small acts of kindness can change everything. The film closes with Disney’s seasonal message: “Make Someone’s Holiday Magic.”
For generations, Disney has been part of how families celebrate the holidays — through the impact we have in communities, the stories we share, and the lifelong memories we help create that bring people together. This year, Disney is continuing that legacy of making magic during the holidays all over the world.
Disney’s Joanna Balikian, Senior Vice President, Brand Management
With Disney’s vast collection of sub-brands, franchises, and services, it’s no surprise that the company manages a remarkable portfolio of more than 250,000 domain names. This extensive domain strategy protects the many elements of the Disney brand and ensures each part of its empire remains secure and easy to find online. It reflects Disney’s commitment to maintaining a strong, accessible digital presence that matches the scale and diversity of its global entertainment business.
‘Happy Christmassacre’ | PETA
PETA’s 2025 Christmas campaign, titled “Happy Christmassacre”, is a bold, provocative film and media rollout designed to challenge festive food traditions by spotlighting the suffering behind them. The campaign was created in collaboration with agency Grey London and directed by David Shane.
The film opens on what looks like a warm, familiar Christmas dinner: a family gathered around a beautifully set table, sharing conversation, wearing paper crowns, and preparing to enjoy a festive feast. But as they begin to eat, blood splatters across plates, faces, and the pristine tablecloth, revealing the hidden violence behind the turkey, ham, and other meats that typically define the holiday meal. The cosy Christmas scene becomes a gruesome reminder of what animals endure for seasonal dining.
The film ends with a stark statistic: over 180 million animals are slaughtered in the UK alone during the festive season, and a call to action urging viewers to choose compassion and opt for a vegan Christmas.
The PETA Foundation has built an impressive online presence and owns over 3,200 domain names. Its primary digital location is Peta.org, while the .com domain name redirects to the main site. This portfolio of domain names includes a variety of country-specific and alternative extensions. Such a strategy strengthens their online visibility, directs web traffic efficiently to the correct site, and helps prevent misuse or imitation of similar domains that could confuse or divert supporters. You can learn more about the PETA Foundation in our recent report on nonprofit organisations, which provides information about their initiatives and domain strategies.
Thought we were just for toys? | Argos
In this year’s festive campaign, Argos takes a playful but pointed swing at the misconception that the retailer is “just for toys”. Starring Simon Bird alongside the brand’s mascots Connie and Trevor, the advert begins with Bird’s character, Tom, climbing into his car while chatting on the phone about buying a gift for his sister. Distracted and confident in his assumption, he casually dismisses Argos as being only for toys.
That comment is all the invitation Connie and Trevor need. They suddenly appear and pull Tom into a journey through a magical Argos warehouse that proves just how wrong he is. He’s swept past high-end tech, beauty products, home appliances, kitchen gadgets, gaming gear, stylish homeware, and more — a vivid showcase of the huge range Argos now offers.
Reflecting on the role, Simon Bird said:
Like most people my age, I spent 80% of my childhood circling dream presents in the Argos catalogue. They’re such an iconic British brand, so getting to front the latest Christmas ad — especially one as unique as this — was an honour and a privilege.
Simon Bird
The company primarily serves the UK market and focuses its online presence on Argos.co.uk.
Final Thoughts
A well-planned domain name portfolio is a powerful strategic asset for successful companies. It plays a key role in supporting marketing efforts, especially when significant resources are invested in creating high-impact advertising. Securing an Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain name ensures that audiences can effortlessly reach the official website, maximising the effectiveness of every marketing campaign and strengthening overall brand presence.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, a strong domain name can help boost your brand and increase your online presence. If you’re ready to take the next step, contact us to learn more about our domain name options and how they can benefit your business.
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